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Overdone PP?
Nikonic1
Registered Users Posts: 684 Major grins
Your thoughts? I'm not sure I like this and I'm a little discouraged the top of the tree got cut off but kind of liked the PP. I'm interested to hear other's opinions.
If you think it's overdone or simply don't like it, any tips or suggestions would be great.
Thanks!
:thumb:thumb
If you think it's overdone or simply don't like it, any tips or suggestions would be great.
Thanks!
:thumb:thumb
Matt :thumb
http://nikonic1.smugmug.com/
http://nikonic1.smugmug.com/
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Comments
I like the composition. There is definately something there. I don't miss the tip of the tree at all. Maybe burning in the shadows in the smaller details like the benches and background buildings. They seem to almost fall flat and offer little contrast.
also, your treatment looks artsy and good to me....
my only nit; this image is calling for a human presence, maybe a person walking or sitting by the tree....
The sky is grey, the limbs almost look over sharpened, the tree is dead center, and the light is flat. I search for a subject beside the tree in the center of the image, and cannot find one, so I deduce the tree is probably what this image is about, and there is not sufficient clarity and contrast in the image of the tree, proper, to hold my attention.
The B&W conversion lacks black blacks, and white whites. Everything seems grey to me. While I can find an occasional pixel that reads 0,0,0, most are nearer 30,30,30 in the lowest tones. And in the whites, except for for a few solitary pixels in the tungsten streetlights that are on, reading 25,255,255, most of the other highlights peg in at 170,170,170
To my eye, good monochrome images are the play of light and dark areas, shadow and light, but I discern no significant shadows in this image of a back lit tree. Indeed when I look for a shadow of a light pole I cannot find a discrete one.
Did this image lack pop in color, perhaps due to a blah sky, and you were trying to make it better by going to monochrome? I think the sky behind the tree was the brightest thing in this image, but the sky is a medium grey tone with no variation or detail whatsoever.
The crop I think is fine, I don't mind the few branches trimmed at the top of the image. Aaron's comment about a human in the image seems worth considering as well.
To make this better I would try to reshoot it on a day with a more pleasing sky - whether swirling stormy clouds, or a blue sky with cumulous clouds. I might prefer to see it later in the day with stronger side-lighting to provide the punch and the contrast missing in this image. Maybe a closer shot of the tree to display its details in a larger format might help. Better lighting I think is the first order of the day. Even a bit of fill flash might have helped, or paint the tree with a flashlight during a long exposure. That might have worked nicely.
This is an image of mine of a backlit tree ( with a bit of color in the sky ) and you can see how the tree fairs. Not so hot!!
Here is one with a cloudy dark sky but nice sidelighting. This is a bit better I think than my first image.
Painting the tree with a flashlight (or a strobe ) can be helpful with a dark background sometimes
[imgl]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/Travel/Wild-Utah-N-Mexico-and-Arizona/Tree-and-new-moon-Panorama/714633457_69wCR-L.jpg[/imgl][imgr]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/Travel/Wild-Utah-N-Mexico-and-Arizona/Capitol-Reef-Pano-Point-sunset/688640785_Vk4Zi-L.jpg[/imgr]
I hope my comments and suggestions offer you points to consider in regard to your image. The subject and the area you photographed seems to offer real possibilities. Now find - or make - better lighting.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Thanks again!
http://nikonic1.smugmug.com/